


Person of Intrigue

by mysterioustrumpet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Demisexual Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), POV Keith (Voltron), POV Third Person, klance, light Adashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 12:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18800197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysterioustrumpet/pseuds/mysterioustrumpet
Summary: All his life, Keith had never really understood what it meant to like someone. What did it mean to be “attracted” to someone? Was it that tingling feeling that he’d read about in romance novels? ‘Cuz he’d never felt that before. Was it finding someone physically attractive? Because Keith had found many people physically attractive before, but he’d never felt the desire to get to know them or do things with them. And when people explained what “attraction” meant, the definition didn’t make sense to Keith. He couldn’t comprehend it. It baffled him.So when he began to notice this boy, Keith wasn’t sure why. Keith could recognize the boy was cute. But he still didn’t feel that “desire” that everyone talked about. He wondered why.





	Person of Intrigue

At first, Keith was intrigued. 

He didn’t really know how to describe it. But there was a boy in one of his classes who intrigued him. And Keith wasn’t really sure why. Sure, it could be due to the boy’s smile or the fact that he had barely-visible freckles across his nose, but Keith wasn’t sure why those characteristics would intrigue him. 

All his life, Keith had never really understood what it meant to like someone. What did it mean to be “attracted” to someone? Was it that tingling feeling that he’d read about in romance novels? ‘Cuz he’d never felt that before. Was it finding someone physically attractive? Because Keith had found many people physically attractive before, but he’d never felt the desire to get to know them or do things with them. And when people explained what “attraction” meant, the definition didn’t make sense to Keith. He couldn’t comprehend it. It baffled him.

So when he began to notice this boy, Keith wasn’t sure why. Keith could recognize the boy was cute. But he still didn’t feel that “desire” that everyone talked about. He wondered why. 

* * *

Strange things were happening to Keith. Every time he was around this boy, who he’d learned was named Lance, Keith found himself feeling weirdly self conscious. He didn’t remember what to do with his hands, or what his hair had looked like in the mirror that morning. Oh god, did his breath smell bad? He desperately hoped not.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Lance asked one day once class had ended.

Keith’s hands froze as he was putting his textbooks in his bag. “Um, Keith.”

“It’s nice to meetcha, Um-Keith,” Lance replied, a lilt in his voice that had Keith look over at him.

“It’s just ‘Keith,’” he corrected.

Lance gave him a wide grin. “Well, Just Keith, what’re you doing after this?”

Keith shouldered his bag and swallowed. Why was Lance talking to him? And why did Keith still feel so self-conscious? “I have another class in a few hours, so I was gonna’ get lunch at the cafeteria.”

“Can I join you?” Lance asked.

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Um, sure? If you want.”

“Great! Let’s head over now, then.”

So Keith found himself in the weird position of walking to the cafeteria with Lance. Turns out the two had a lot in common. They both liked the same TV shows, video games, and movies, and Lance bounced from one topic to the other like a jumping mouse that’d been hopped up on caffeine. Keith found it amusing. They talked at length about different superheroes, cartoons, book series, hobbies. Pretty much anything Keith liked they talked about. Keith was almost late to his next class because of him. But Keith didn’t think he minded. He walked into his next class with a smile.

* * *

Keith was starting to notice other things about Lance. The thing that hit him right away was the way Lance smelled. It wasn’t a specific smell, and Keith definitely couldn’t put a name to it, but it was distinct and unique and Keith could recall it from memory. Which was definitely weird, right? Keith certainly thought so.

There was also Lance’s eyes, which weren’t just blue like Keith had thought. They were a deep blue with rings of green and brown around his pupil, only visible when the sun was shining directly at Lance. Keith couldn’t move the first time he saw that. He thought he’d never seen someone with eyes so beautiful. Even more beautiful were the crinkly lines at the corner of them, which Keith took to mean that Lance smiled a lot. After about two weeks of almost daily interactions with him, Keith knew that to be true. 

But Keith was still baffled. He thought about it when he tried to sleep, when he did his homework, when he drove to work. Did noticing these things about Lance mean that Keith liked him? Not really, at least Keith didn’t think so. He’d never been attracted to someone before, never had crushes or been in love. So how could he know when, or if, he ended up liking someone? Keith was still intrigued by Lance, but that intrigue had faded into more of a . . . presence. Yeah, that was the right word. Lance’s presence felt different to Keith. It wasn’t above or below anyone else’s around him, but it was  _ different _ . And Keith still didn’t understand why. 

Regardless, Keith didn’t think he liked Lance. It was simply a result of becoming better friends with him. After all, all of Keith’s close friends had their own presence, their own  _ feel _ to their existence that made them who they are. It wouldn’t be anything new for Lance to have his own feel to him.

* * *

Okay, there was definitely something wrong. Keith was starting to feel . . . weird. And only in certain situations.

Situation A: Lance showed up to class with a girl by his side. A really beautiful girl, with long, curly grey hair and rich dark skin. She and Lance seemed really familiar with one another, and they hugged before Lance walked in. This made Keith feel weird. 

Situation B: Lance ran into one of his friends on the way to the cafeteria, a tall guy with a friendly face and a headband. He and Lance also seemed really familiar, exchanging touches and glances every so often. This made Keith feel weird as well.

What was it about these situations that made Keith feel so weird? And it wasn’t just weird, it was almost . . . bad? It was a feeling of slight loss, of negative space, of emptiness. And yet at the same time it wasn’t. It was a churning feeling, a feeling of turmoil and discomfort and nerves. Keith wanted to put names to these feelings so he could at least find out why he was experiencing them, but he couldn’t. The names evaded him, just outside his reach and on the edges of his mind. When he thought about Lance being so familiar with someone else and what that could mean, the feelings returned. And when Keith thought more about what that could mean, his chest briefly squeezed in pain.

Wait, pain? That wasn’t normal, was it? Keith didn’t feel like this with his other friends. He needed someone to talk to.

* * *

“So, what’s on your mind?” Shiro asked.

Keith adjusted his position in Shiro’s chair. His best friend, and frankly someone who was like a brother to him, lived in a small apartment with his husband, Adam. Keith knew he could trust Shiro to help him with what he was experiencing. He explained his feelings and thoughts to Shiro and waited for his reply.

“Well, it sounds to me like you like him,” Shiro said simply, giving Keith a gentle smile.

Keith blinked. Then frowned. “No, I can’t like him. That kind of thing doesn’t happen to me.”

Shiro chuckled. “Keith, everything you’ve described to me is the marker for having feelings for someone. You said it yourself, didn’t you? His existence feels different than other people’s right?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I like him,” Keith insisted. “It just means his existence is different, just like everyone else’s. No two people feel the same to me, Shiro.”

“I know,” Shiro assured him. “But his existence is distinct in an entirely different way, isn’t it?”

Keith took a breath to answer, but found he couldn’t. He didn’t know  _ how _ to answer that question, or if he even wanted to. Did . . . did he like Lance? 

Later that night Keith lay in his bed staring at the ceiling, wondering if it was possible he had finally developed feelings for someone. He certainly enjoyed spending time with Lance, in a way that was different from when he spent time with his other friends. And he looked forward to seeing Lance throughout the week. He felt bad when he imagined Lance with someone else, even though he knew Lance was single. And Keith still found Lance ridiculously cute. 

“I like Lance,” Keith whispered, and he immediately covered his face with his hands as heat rushed to his cheeks. He couldn’t stop smiling, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the realization took hold of him. He liked Lance. Of course he did. 

“I like Lance,” he said again. He repeated it to himself so many times he lost count. Keith couldn’t believe it. He had feelings for someone, and it was such a huge contrast to what he’d imagined it to be that he hadn’t realized it until he was too far in. 

It wasn’t anxiety-inducing. It wasn’t breathtaking, it wasn’t nervous, it wasn’t even exciting. If Keith had to put a word to it, it was comforting. It was comforting and relieving and blissful and filled Keith with a warm, glowy feeling. It was a reassuring confirmation that Keith  _ could _ fall for someone, which he’d spent nights worrying about and longing for. He had friends who were asexual, but he didn’t feel like he identified with that. So for a long time Keith had wondered if he was just something different entirely. But now he knew he wasn’t. He’d fallen for someone. And that someone was Lance.

* * *

When Keith saw Lance the next day he felt that wash of comfort again. Now that Keith had acknowledged his feelings for Lance, he didn’t feel the need to act on them. He felt at peace with himself, and knew that if all he ever was to Lance was a friend, he’d be fine with that. Keith knew that his feelings for Lance simply  _ were _ , and they didn’t need to go anywhere.

But something seemed a bit off about Lance that day. He would avert his gaze when he met Keith’s eyes, and he seemed more jittery than usual. Keith wondered if he’d done something wrong, but couldn’t think of anything. 

As they were heading back to the parking lot after Lance’s last class, Lance’s speech sped up wildly. He switched topics faster than a bullet, and Keith knew something was up. When they reached Keith’s car, Lance swallowed and let out a shaky breath.

“So, uh, I could be reading this all wrong, since I tend to do that a lot, but, uh, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me?” Lance said, a nervous smile on his face.

Keith blinked. “Wait, are you saying you like me?”

Lance’s face reddened, blotting out his freckles. “Well, y-yeah, I guess. But you can totally say no, if you don’t feel the same way. I would be fine just being friends, but I, uh, wanted to let you know, or something.”

Keith felt a calm he couldn’t describe. Which was weird. In all those books, in all the movies and TV shows, didn’t people feel excited beyond relief when their crush asked them out? But all Keith felt was calm. And peaceful, peaceful was definitely something he was feeling.

“Yes, I’d love to go on a date with you,” Keith replied, giving Lance an easy smile.

Lance’s face lit up and he returned the smile with a huge one of his own. “Great! I’ll text you later then, okay?”

Keith nodded. “Okay. I look forward to it.”

Lance’s cheeks darkened again, his smile widening. “Okay! See ya, Keith!”

“See ya,” Keith said, and he watched as Lance turned around headed to his car. Lance glanced back to wave ‘bye’ to Keith more than once, and Keith found each one endearing. 

It was only when Keith took a seat behind his wheel that his reaction caught up with him, and he buried his face in his arms. He sat there for a few minutes, riding the wave of euphoria and happiness as it painted his face red. Wow. He was going on a date with Lance. And he felt really good about it. Keith wasn’t baffled anymore, and he wasn’t intrigued anymore. He was happy. Ridiculously, comically happy, and hopeful about what was to come. 

Maybe intrigue wasn’t such a bad thing.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! this is based off of my own experiences with romance and "liking" people, and I thought it'd be cool to envision Keith as demisexual (if that's even what this is? it seems like it but idk). please leave a comment if you can, it is always greatly appreciated! :D


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